...about how much more does the badness meter get turned up in the game? I just had a harrowing journey into the Alien base and managed to come out with all of my crew alive although they all got fucked up pretty bad. I've had NIgeria and the Aussies bail on me already. I'll most likely jinx myself but all of my encounters with a cyberdisc so far I've been able to kill the damn things before they've had a chance to react. After hearing all of the horror stories surrounding them I took the +100% damage for robots. Anyways....am I correct in assuming it keeps cranking up the heat? Also, fuck man. They weren't lying about money. You are just scraping by pretty much all the time.

Are you playing on Impossible? If not, then the game only gets easier from there. Almost laughably so. This is coming from someone who has only played Classic Ironman.

Yeah, as someone who played through Normal, it gets easier from there. Surely by now you get the mechanics of the game and the importance of HEAT ammo (100% more damage to robits). A later robit enemy will likely be the biggest problem you'll come across by the end of the game. Also, satellites! Always be making and launching satellites! A satellite over a country means they'll never be an option when abduction sites hit you. I was swimming in money by the end of the game and you, sir, will too, if you launch dem satellites (and fulfill council requests).

@Demoskinos: That one perk (the robot damage) makes the game a hell of a lot easier than it should be. Kinda feels like cheating when you have it, but it's somewhat required. I finished the game without it, but thinking back it sure would have helped...

The game actually gets a lot easier as you progress. Yes the aliens get harder and appear in larger numbers, but you have the means to deal with them effectively and efficiently at that stage.

Also, at a certain point, you will have more money than you can spend. Just keep satellite coverage everywhere and sell all the shit you don't need.

I would also say that the game actually gets easier as you move forward (with one or two exceptions for some enemy types).

The hardest parts are at the start, once you get over that hump and get the ball rolling it's harder to fail, both on the macro level and all the gear/levels of your dudes also counter the randomness. Even classic difficulty becomes mostly a cakewalk towards the end, funds pouring in and you badass decked out squad can roll over almost anything without much challenge At least as long as you are somewhat competent, it becomes a snowball effect.

Classic you can easily keep all the countries, if you just don't fail missions and keep making satellites.

Impossible straight up fucks you over from the start, and you are going to loose countries on the first month.

HEAT ammo is nice but it's by no means a requirement.

Any competent assault or sniper can just as well handle that one specific enemy type in lategame. Basically your assaults and snipers can be super deadly against everything, while HEAT ammo makes your heavies who are slightly less deadly more effective against robots specifically.

Wait, so I'm confused by the difficulty of this game... if I play it on normal how hard is it? The GB guys made it sound like it's hard as fuck.

@PandaBear said:

Wait, so I'm confused by the difficulty of this game... if I play it on normal how hard is it? The GB guys made it sound like it's hard as fuck.

This game, at least towards the beginning, is not so much hard as it is random.

You can get a bad seed and watch your team get totally ruined, even if you make sound tactical choices and play super cautiously.

That's why even on normal, you'll see situations that are straight-up unfair once in awhile. It only gets worse on higher difficulties, and the chance for things to go south rises dramatically.

I'm trying to finish a Classic Ironman game right now, and after restarting several times, it's pretty clear luck is a huge factor.

@PandaBear said:

Wait, so I'm confused by the difficulty of this game... if I play it on normal how hard is it? The GB guys made it sound like it's hard as fuck.

No offence meant to the GB crew but they are generally incompetent (skill wise, not editorial wise) in their approach to most games. More so strategy games. With Ryan being quite bad at them. Their talents lie elsewhere.

Even with them being almost done with Xcom in the third podcast where it comes up they still lack a basic understanding of several core mechanics.

Normal is not that hard or scary, unless you never played a turn based strategy/tactics game. And with a logical/analytical frame of mind it too is easy. On normal luck should not even be a factor there are plenty of buffers smothering the player (more hp, higher base to hit chance, less enemies per map, less panic in countries, free starting building, etc), to the point where there is a limited on the number of enemies that can engage you at once, when if you trigger more by blundering into them they will retreat to engage you at a later time.

@PandaBear: It ain't all that. Normal and being able to save is a good time, that's how I played through it the first time. Once you've beaten that but good, then it's on to Classic/Ironman. That's a whole different ballgame.

So I know that "keep makin dem satellites" has been a generally echoed sentiment how are you all getting them up so fast what with having to build a satellite uplink to actually be able to launch them?

@Demoskinos said:

So I know that "keep makin dem satellites" has been a generally echoed sentiment how are you all getting them up so fast what with having to build a satellite uplink to actually be able to launch them?

Make them in parallel. Uplinks are only required for launch not to build.

You can be making satellites all day and simply wait for the uplinks to be ready to launch them, they can be built concurrently. Learn the cycles/times, council report when income matters is 30 days, a satellite takes 20 days, an uplink bla bla, etc. You need power and engineers in advance so make those ahead of time, as well as excavations. Basically you can excavate/prep before the month start, then start building satellites in the first 1-10 days of the month, then a few days later the uplink(s).

More satellites, means you can make and launch more the next month, then more the next. So it pays to fund them early. Sell all alien crap you don't need or aren't using. (except alloys/weapon parts/elirium). If you want to rush fast satellite deployments even corpses and UFO parts go into the grinder. Do missions that give engineers if you find yourself short, or the ones that give $200, they can account for much early income early game then waiting for a council handout. Assaulting the first alien base for example can give you a huge boost of cash from all the salvage.

Also you only require 4 normal uplinks and 1 satellite nexus, with at least all connected, to be able to cover the entire globe. (or 2 uplinks and 2 nexii in a square pattern if memory serves). So not that much at the end of the day really.

It's technically possible to cover all countries by the end of the 4th month.

@Tennmuerti: So essentially satellites are not only good deterrents but also a long term investment in the way of cash? Hmm. I figure I'll do another run after this one so I'll see if I can't get better at the flow of the game. Last question... how do you open up setting your inital base somewhere other than North America or Europe?

@Demoskinos:

Turn off the tutorial when starting a new game. It's under Advanced Options.

I agree about the difficulty curve reaching its peak on normal around the first third of the campaign. The hump, as Tennmuerti called it, is right around when enemy numbers and damage potential scales up the first time, meanwhile you haven't launched much in the way of satellites, your resulting monthly income is piddly, you have zilch in the way of engineering discounts, and you probably have a squad of poorly equipped sergeants on the front line. Once you launch a couple satellites and finish up some crucial research you will start to outpace the aliens in the arms race. Sounds like Classic has a similar curve.

When I first started out on this game I would have never considered upping the difficulty. Now right on the cusp of the endgame on normal and feeling comfortable with the game's systems and logic, I think I will definitely make a Classic-Ironman run in future.

@Demoskinos:

Yes aside from the initial base funding you only get income from countries that have a satellite over them. More satellites deployed more income.

For other country locations, like was mentioned turn off the tutorial. But the only 2 continents of real worth are Europe and Asia imo. Europe for rushing satellites vie workshops and Asia for cheap and fast officer training upgrades. Asia also has the most countries co it's bonus is the hardest to get otherwise. The tutorial also gives you a significant boost with: 1 free satellite and a guaranteed early special council mission that is basically a freebie in cash/engineers/scientists and panic reduction.

@Tennmuerti said:

@Demoskinos:

Yes aside from the initial base funding you only get income from countries that have a satellite over them. More satellites deployed more income.

For other country locations, like was mentioned turn off the tutorial. But the only 2 continents of real worth are Europe and Asia imo. Europe for rushing satellites vie workshops and Asia for cheap and fast officer training upgrades. Asia also has the most countries co it's bonus is the hardest to get otherwise. The tutorial also gives you a significant boost with: 1 free satellite and a guaranteed early special council mission that is basically a freebie in cash/engineers/scientists and panic reduction.

This isn't ENTIRELY true. You DO get a base amount of funding from countries, though it is pretty much negligible compared to the bonus from satellite coverage.

Also of note is that, every month, satellite nations have a chance of taking a -1 panic hit. It's like, 20%, but given the amount of coverage you're going to have (and NEED) by the end of the game, you'll pretty much end up with panic falling no matter what.

@Terramagi: Yea I just file that under the "base funding" i mentioned.

http://www.ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=Situation_Room_(EU2012)#Funding

I do not believe you loose any base funding when a country withdraws (if there was no satellite over it in the first place). Correct me if I'm wrong, i've just never had a country leave yet, prior to now slogging through impossible ironman.

From my understanding the base funding you get is independent of countries staying/leaving. It is a set amount based on location nothing more. After that only satellite coverage matters.

@Tennmuerti said:

@Terramagi: Yea I just file that under the "base funding" i mentioned.

http://www.ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=Situation_Room_(EU2012)#Funding

I do not believe you loose any base funding when a country withdraws (if there was no satellite over it in the first place). Correct me if I'm wrong, i've just never had a country leave yet, prior to now slogging through impossible ironman.

From my understanding the base funding you get is independent of countries staying/leaving. It is a set amount based on location nothing more. After that only satellite coverage matters.

@Terramagi: Just tested this, confirming my understanding. When a country without a satellite leaves you do not lose any money. So you only have initial income from the base (like I mentioned previously) and from countries covered by satellites. Uncovered countries do not give you any income.